Gas turbine engines are widely used in industrial and commercial operations. A typical gas turbine engine includes a compressor at the front, one or more combustors around the middle, and a turbine at the rear. The compressor imparts kinetic energy to the working fluid (e.g., air) to produce a compressed working fluid at a highly energized state. The compressed working fluid exits the compressor and flows to the combustors where it mixes with fuel and ignites to generate combustion gases having a high temperature and pressure. The combustion gases flow to the turbine where they expand to produce work. For example, expansion of the combustion gases in the turbine may rotate a shaft connected to a generator to produce electricity.
During normal operation, thermal and mechanical loads act upon each blade in the compressor and/or turbine. During abnormal operation (e.g., compressor surge, blade-out, etc.), these loads can be extraordinarily large. Accordingly, a means for axially retaining blades is required in order to keep the blades axially positioned during both normal and abnormal operation of the gas turbine engine.